Subscribers have been expressing concern for many years about calls that are generated by automatic dialers (commonly referred to as “robocalls”). These calls, and some other telemarketing calls, have become such a problem that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States has altered previous rulings to now allow service providers to block calls that subscribers do not wish to receive. Current applications to block nuisance calls have not been effective because there is no existing solution to automatically identify calls generated by automated dialers and other nuisance callers.
For example, some current applications to block nuisance calls rely on a simultaneous ring feature. A third party computer system external to the core network is configured to receive the simultaneous ring, identify a call as a nuisance call, and then terminate the call. Such applications may be complicated for subscribers to configure, may not completely block the call from ringing the subscriber's phone, and lack access to certain kinds of data indicative of nuisance calls. Such applications may be limited to a single user view, where each user has the ability to block numbers significant to the user. Also, many of those applications are voice over internet protocol (VoIP) solutions and cannot be used by wireless or fixed line subscribers.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer readable media for identifying and blocking nuisance calls at the network core of a telecommunications network.